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Bruce, Phillips among Gold Glove finalists

Bruce, Phillips among Gold Glove finalists

9/28/13: Jay Bruce ranges towards the right-field line and makes a sliding catch on a fly ball off the bat of Andrew McCutchen

By Mark Sheldon
/
MLB.com |

CINCINNATI -- Reds right fielder Jay Bruce and second baseman Brandon Phillips were named finalists at their positions for Rawlings National League Gold Glove Awards.

The announcements were made on Friday. Bruce, a three-time finalist, will be seeking his first Gold Glove Award, while Phillips will be looking for his fourth after previously winning in 2008, '10 and '11. Winners of the awards at each position will be revealed at 8 p.m. ET on Tuesday during a broadcast carried on ESPN2.

Since 1957, Major League managers and coaches have been the sole voters for the awards to the best defensive players in baseball. But the voting was slightly altered this year. Managers and coaches got an assist this year from the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR). For the first time, Rawlings collaborated with SABR to formally incorporate sabermetrics as a component of the Gold Glove Award.

A committee of experts in baseball analytics and defensive measurement devised the SABR Defensive Index (SDI), which draws on and aggregates two types of existing defensive metrics: those derived from batted ball, location-based data and those collected from play-by-play accounts.

Bruce, who will be vying for the award against Arizona's Gerardo Parra and Atlanta's Jason Heyward, was second among NL right fielders with a .991 fielding percentage while making three errors. Bruce's 13 assists were second in the league at the position behind Parra.

Phillips had a .987 fielding percentage, and his nine errors were his most since 2009. He is a finalist at second base along with Darwin Barney of the Cubs and Mark Ellis of the Dodgers. Barney won the Gold Glove Award in 2012.

In some of the advanced stats that might be part of the SDI compilation, Bruce was second among qualified NL right fielders with a 10.2 Ultimate Zone Rating (UZR), while Parra led the category at 26.6. In defensive runs saved, Parra led with 36 with Bruce in second with 18.

Phillips was second among NL second basemen with an 8.6 UZR, while Barney led the category at 12.5. Ellis led the position in defensive runs saved with 12, followed by Barney at 11. Phillips was fourth (one).

Last year, the Reds had six Gold Glove Award finalists and zero winners.

Ballots were distributed to managers and coaches in September, and they received a revamped statistical resource guide as well.